The Pushy Signing Service and the Blank Certificate
A signing service offers Ken, a new notary, $40 per signing and sends him a refinance package with instructions: 'Do not discuss fees or terms with the borrower; just get the signature and notarize. Leave the notary certificate blank - our back office will fill in the venue and date to match the lender's records.' At the appointment, the borrower, Ms. Tran, is rushed, the documents are 90 pages, and the certificate block is indeed blank. Ken notices the service's email also asks him to 'pre-sign as witness if needed.' He is uncomfortable but needs the work. He considers completing the certificate himself with the correct venue and date, leaving it blank as instructed, or refusing the engagement.
1. Evaluate the three options. What are the risks of each?
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Completing the certificate himself with accurate venue and date is the only defensible option among the three, provided Ken actually performed the notarial act and the information is true. Leaving it blank as instructed is unacceptable: a notary certificate must be completed by the notary at the time of the act, and allowing a back office to fill in venue and date creates a certificate that may not reflect reality - a false or misleading notarial statement for which Ken, not the service, is responsible. Refusing the engagement is also legitimate and perhaps wisest given the service's other demands, but if he proceeds he must control the certificate. Pre-signing as a witness is separate misconduct and he must refuse that outright; a witness attests to witnessing, and signing in advance is a false attestation regardless of what the service wants.
2. What should Ken do about the service's instructions and the rushed borrower, and what would you advise about future work?
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Ken should complete the certificate truthfully, note the correct venue and date, and decline the pre-signing instruction in writing. With Ms. Tran, he should slow the process enough to confirm identity and willingness - a rushed signer is a competence and coercion risk, and 90 pages in a pressured setting is exactly when undue influence hides. He should ask whether she has had a chance to review the terms and note her answers in his journal. He should also preserve the service's written instructions, since they are evidence if the file is later challenged. For the future, he should decline work from a service that directs him to falsify or leave blank notarial records; the $40 fee is trivial against the liability. He should also confirm the fee disclosure rules in his state before accepting similar engagements.